I started a thread a while ago about a PrCl based on the Casseline Brotherhood of Jacqueline Karey's Kushiel series of books. Several people were very very helpful in their critiques & suggestions to tweek the PrCl.
Alas, the thread was lost in a big crash some time ago.
I managed to find my old notes and post this in an effort to restart the process.
The Bladed Brotherhood
Prerequisites:
Alignment: Any Lawful, but disputes cause most LE Brothers to eventually join monesteries populated by like-minded Bladed Brothers.
Class abilities: Flurry of Blows, Still Mind, and Aura of Courage
Feats: Simple and Martial Weapon Proficiency, Light and Medium Armor Proficiency, Improved Unarmed Combat, Improved Grapple, Combat Reflexes, Weapon Finesse, Unorthodox Flurry* (any small, bladed slashing or piercing weapon).
*This Feat is from DCv1: it allows the PC to treat selected weapon as a monk weapon for all purposes.
Equipment: at least one pair of Masterwork weapons of the kind chosen for Unorthodox Flurry.
BAB, Skills, Skill points and Saving throws as Monk.
Lvl BAB Fort Ref Will Special
1___+0 +2 +2 +2___Greater Weapon Focus, Monk Abilities, Armored Monk, Vow of Servitude, Charge Defense 1, Charge Coup De Grace 1
2___+1 +3 +3 +3___Dagger Mastery 1
3___+2 +3 +3 +3___Dagger Defense 1
4___+3 +3 +3 +3___Charge Defense 2
5___+3 +3 +3 +3___Dagger Mastery 2, Charge Coup De Grace 2:
6___+4 +3 +3 +3___Dagger Defense 2
7___+5 +3 +3 +3___Charge Defense 3
8___+6/+1 +3 +3 +3___Dagger Mastery 3
9___+6/+1 +3 +3 +3___Dagger Defense 3
10___+7/+1 +3 +3 +3___Charge Coup De Grace 3
HD: d8
Monk Abilities: a Bladed Brother is a monk, thus his PrCl levels stack for purposes of Flurry of Blows, and Unarmed Damage, and he gets his Wisdom Bonus to AC. They do not receive any of the Special abilities or Fast Movement.
Armored Monk: a Bladed Brother retains his monk abilities when wearing light or medium armor, but not if wearing heavy armor or any kind of shield. For purposes of determining armor type, only consider the armor charts, class abilities and racial adjustments, but not special materials or magical enhancements.
Vow of Servitude: this is the holy contract between the Bladed Brother and his Charge. It binds the Bladed Brother to his Charge as a Holy Obligation. If the Bladed Brother fails his duty to his charge, he loses all of his abilities as a Bladed Brother until he Atones. If the failure is deliberate on the part of the Brother, atonement is not possible, and the PrCl's abilities are lost forever. The Vow covers the length and terms of the Brother's duties to the Charge, and especially covers the contingency of whether the Brother must kill the Charge in order to keep the Charge from being captured.
The Charge may be a person or thing. If it is a thing, whether the thing can be destroyed is determined by the thing's owner.
If it is a person, the Vow is usually between that person and the Bladed Brother. On rare occasions, however, the Charge may be an agent of another person, organization or entity. In those cases, the Vow is sworn to the person, organization or entity in charge of the Agent/Charge, and as such is only aware of the Vow's terms if his superior or the Bladed Brother reveals the Vow's terms. Many LG monks refuse to swear a Vow regarding an agent unless the agent can be made aware of the Vow's terms.
Charge Defense (Ex): The Bladed Brother selects a single person (or in the rarest of cases, an object such as a holy artifact) as the person he is sworn to defend at all costs- his Charge. The Charge is chosen at the time the Brother makes the Vow of Servitude to him, forming a contract, and cannot be changed until the terms of service are completed or the Charge releases the Brother from his duties. Essentially, the Bladed Brother is trying to protect the Charge to the best of his abilities by a combination of interposing himself, deflecting blows with his weapons, and even manhandling the charge into a more defensible position.
As long as he is conscious, a Bladed Brother is always aware of the exact location of his Charge as long as his Charge within 30' of him. He can designate one opponent and position himself so that he always provides his Charge with Soft Cover versus that opponent.
In addition to soft cover, the BB reduces all melee/ranged weapon (but not spell/psionics) attacks on Charge from designated opponent by 1d4 damage- but takes that hit’s full rolled damage if the attack roll would strike the BB's AC.
By 4th level, the Bladed Brother has become so adept at interposing himself, he can provide Soft Cover to his Charge from any opponent he is aware of, as long as the Charge is within 5'. A Charge who is trying to do delicate tasks (picking locks, casting spells) will suffer a -5 to all skill rolls while being actively protected from harm due to being jostled and manhandled.
In addition to soft cover, the BB reduces all melee/ranged weapon (but not spell/psionics) attacks on Charge from all opponents by 1d6 damage- but takes those hits’ full rolled damage if the attack roll would strike the BB's AC.
At 7th level, in addition to soft cover, the Bladed Brother may Take the Blow. He has become so adept at interposing himself that once per round, the Bladed Brother can choose to interpose himself between the Charge and a single opponent, taking all blows that foe meant for the Charge that round. The decision to take the blow must be made when that particular blow is confirmed as a hit on the Charge. A Charge who is trying to do delicate tasks (picking locks, casting spells) will suffer an additional -5 to all skill rolls while being actively protected from harm due to being jostled as the Brother takes the blow meant for him.
Charge defense abilities are only usable with the weapon the Brother has chosen with Unorthodox Flurry.
Charge Coup De Grace: the final task required of some of the Brotherhood- killing their Charge so that they may not fall into enemy hands. At this level, it can be used whenever the Charge is adjacent to the Brother. Charge Coup De Grace is resolved as a touch attack. The only time a Brother may do this is if his Charge has allowed this as part of the Vow.
At 5th level, the Brother can do this duty as long as the Charge is within 30' of him and the Brother has at least one usable blade, a free arm, and the Charge is not under 100% cover or other barrier preventing the passage of the Brother's weapon. If the Charge is not adjacent to the Brother, the Brother must use a ranged weapon, a reach weapon, or a weapon he knows how to throw (that means he can't use a kukri or an improvised weapon for this unless it is appropriately enchanted or he has the Throw Anything feat). Charge Coup De Grace is resolved as a touch attack. The only time a Brother may do this is if his Charge has allowed this as part of the Vow.
By 10th level, as long as the Charge is within 30' of the Brother, this can be done at any time the Brother has at least one usable blade and a free arm. The Holy Vow of Servitude empowers the Brother's weapon to pass through any intervening barrier- if that barrier is living, it automatically takes a critical hit based on the weapon's damage. If the Charge is not adjacent to the Brother, the Brother must use a ranged weapon, a reach weapon, or a weapon he knows how to throw (that means he can't use a kukri or an improvised weapon for this unless it is appropriately enchanted or he has the Throw Anything feat). Charge Coup De Grace is resolved as a touch attack. The only time a Brother may do this is if his Charge has allowed this as part of the Vow.
Dagger Mastery (Ex): Gained at 2nd level, this ability improves at 5th and 8th level.
Bladed Brothers are most dangerous with the relatively innocuous blades they prefer. This ability is actually a set of 3 abilities: Improved Flurry Damage, Carving Strike, and Deep Strike. Benefits from Dagger Mastery (increased die size, threat range, and multiplier) do not stack with similar abilities from other sources unless a Wish or similar high-level magic is used. Dagger Mastery abilities are only usable with the small, bladed slashing or piercing weapon the Brother has chosen with Unorthodox Flurry.
Improved Flurry Damage: at the specified levels, the damage die of the weapon the Bladed Brother uses increases to the next largest die, analogous to the monk’s Unarmed Strike damage progression. This damage die increase is available only during the Flurry attack.
Carving Strike- When the Bladed Brother uses a full attack and is successful in executing a Grab with his opponent, he doubles the crit threat range for his dagger as he stabs then carves up and around the body of his target. In this case, the base die and crit multipliers remain standard for the dagger, but the crit threat range is doubled (redoubling at levels 5 and 8). Because the BB must execute a Grab attack, he must also have a hand free, costing him some of his Dagger Defense bonuses. The Carving Attack technique is only usable with Slashing weapons.
Deep Strike- When the Bladed Brother uses a dagger 2 handed (one hand on hilt, the other cupping the pommel and fist, he doubles the crit multiplier for his dagger as he stabs hard into the body of his target. In this case, the base die and crit threat remain standard for the dagger, but the crit multiplier increases by +1 (+1 more at 5th and again 8th level). Because the BB must use 2 hands for this attack, it costs him some of his Dagger Defense bonuses. He gets the standard bonuses for attacking with a weapon 2 handed. The Deep Strike technique is only usable with Piercing weapons.
Benefits granted by Dagger Mastery do not stack with Feats, Spells or other abilities that grant similar benefits barring a Wish or similar magic.
Dagger Defense (Ex): The Bladed Brother's flashing daggers deflect many blows into harmlessness as they form a steel cocoon around him. Dagger Defense abilities are only usable with a knife, dagger, kukri or other small, bladed slashing weapon the Brother has chosen with Unorthodox Flurry.
At 3rd level, the Bladed Brother gains +1 competence bonus to his AC per blade he wields in combat. At 6th level, this bonus increases to +2AC per blade, and at 9th level, to +3AC per blade.
The maximum bonus is +6, even for multi-armed Bladed Brothers- but they can still benefit from using more than 2 daggers, since they would retain that maximum bonus even if partially disarmed or if some daggers get thrown.
Suggestions?
Alas, the thread was lost in a big crash some time ago.
I managed to find my old notes and post this in an effort to restart the process.
The Bladed Brotherhood
Prerequisites:
Alignment: Any Lawful, but disputes cause most LE Brothers to eventually join monesteries populated by like-minded Bladed Brothers.
Class abilities: Flurry of Blows, Still Mind, and Aura of Courage
Feats: Simple and Martial Weapon Proficiency, Light and Medium Armor Proficiency, Improved Unarmed Combat, Improved Grapple, Combat Reflexes, Weapon Finesse, Unorthodox Flurry* (any small, bladed slashing or piercing weapon).
*This Feat is from DCv1: it allows the PC to treat selected weapon as a monk weapon for all purposes.
Equipment: at least one pair of Masterwork weapons of the kind chosen for Unorthodox Flurry.
BAB, Skills, Skill points and Saving throws as Monk.
Lvl BAB Fort Ref Will Special
1___+0 +2 +2 +2___Greater Weapon Focus, Monk Abilities, Armored Monk, Vow of Servitude, Charge Defense 1, Charge Coup De Grace 1
2___+1 +3 +3 +3___Dagger Mastery 1
3___+2 +3 +3 +3___Dagger Defense 1
4___+3 +3 +3 +3___Charge Defense 2
5___+3 +3 +3 +3___Dagger Mastery 2, Charge Coup De Grace 2:
6___+4 +3 +3 +3___Dagger Defense 2
7___+5 +3 +3 +3___Charge Defense 3
8___+6/+1 +3 +3 +3___Dagger Mastery 3
9___+6/+1 +3 +3 +3___Dagger Defense 3
10___+7/+1 +3 +3 +3___Charge Coup De Grace 3
HD: d8
Monk Abilities: a Bladed Brother is a monk, thus his PrCl levels stack for purposes of Flurry of Blows, and Unarmed Damage, and he gets his Wisdom Bonus to AC. They do not receive any of the Special abilities or Fast Movement.
Armored Monk: a Bladed Brother retains his monk abilities when wearing light or medium armor, but not if wearing heavy armor or any kind of shield. For purposes of determining armor type, only consider the armor charts, class abilities and racial adjustments, but not special materials or magical enhancements.
Vow of Servitude: this is the holy contract between the Bladed Brother and his Charge. It binds the Bladed Brother to his Charge as a Holy Obligation. If the Bladed Brother fails his duty to his charge, he loses all of his abilities as a Bladed Brother until he Atones. If the failure is deliberate on the part of the Brother, atonement is not possible, and the PrCl's abilities are lost forever. The Vow covers the length and terms of the Brother's duties to the Charge, and especially covers the contingency of whether the Brother must kill the Charge in order to keep the Charge from being captured.
The Charge may be a person or thing. If it is a thing, whether the thing can be destroyed is determined by the thing's owner.
If it is a person, the Vow is usually between that person and the Bladed Brother. On rare occasions, however, the Charge may be an agent of another person, organization or entity. In those cases, the Vow is sworn to the person, organization or entity in charge of the Agent/Charge, and as such is only aware of the Vow's terms if his superior or the Bladed Brother reveals the Vow's terms. Many LG monks refuse to swear a Vow regarding an agent unless the agent can be made aware of the Vow's terms.
Charge Defense (Ex): The Bladed Brother selects a single person (or in the rarest of cases, an object such as a holy artifact) as the person he is sworn to defend at all costs- his Charge. The Charge is chosen at the time the Brother makes the Vow of Servitude to him, forming a contract, and cannot be changed until the terms of service are completed or the Charge releases the Brother from his duties. Essentially, the Bladed Brother is trying to protect the Charge to the best of his abilities by a combination of interposing himself, deflecting blows with his weapons, and even manhandling the charge into a more defensible position.
As long as he is conscious, a Bladed Brother is always aware of the exact location of his Charge as long as his Charge within 30' of him. He can designate one opponent and position himself so that he always provides his Charge with Soft Cover versus that opponent.
In addition to soft cover, the BB reduces all melee/ranged weapon (but not spell/psionics) attacks on Charge from designated opponent by 1d4 damage- but takes that hit’s full rolled damage if the attack roll would strike the BB's AC.
By 4th level, the Bladed Brother has become so adept at interposing himself, he can provide Soft Cover to his Charge from any opponent he is aware of, as long as the Charge is within 5'. A Charge who is trying to do delicate tasks (picking locks, casting spells) will suffer a -5 to all skill rolls while being actively protected from harm due to being jostled and manhandled.
In addition to soft cover, the BB reduces all melee/ranged weapon (but not spell/psionics) attacks on Charge from all opponents by 1d6 damage- but takes those hits’ full rolled damage if the attack roll would strike the BB's AC.
At 7th level, in addition to soft cover, the Bladed Brother may Take the Blow. He has become so adept at interposing himself that once per round, the Bladed Brother can choose to interpose himself between the Charge and a single opponent, taking all blows that foe meant for the Charge that round. The decision to take the blow must be made when that particular blow is confirmed as a hit on the Charge. A Charge who is trying to do delicate tasks (picking locks, casting spells) will suffer an additional -5 to all skill rolls while being actively protected from harm due to being jostled as the Brother takes the blow meant for him.
Charge defense abilities are only usable with the weapon the Brother has chosen with Unorthodox Flurry.
Charge Coup De Grace: the final task required of some of the Brotherhood- killing their Charge so that they may not fall into enemy hands. At this level, it can be used whenever the Charge is adjacent to the Brother. Charge Coup De Grace is resolved as a touch attack. The only time a Brother may do this is if his Charge has allowed this as part of the Vow.
At 5th level, the Brother can do this duty as long as the Charge is within 30' of him and the Brother has at least one usable blade, a free arm, and the Charge is not under 100% cover or other barrier preventing the passage of the Brother's weapon. If the Charge is not adjacent to the Brother, the Brother must use a ranged weapon, a reach weapon, or a weapon he knows how to throw (that means he can't use a kukri or an improvised weapon for this unless it is appropriately enchanted or he has the Throw Anything feat). Charge Coup De Grace is resolved as a touch attack. The only time a Brother may do this is if his Charge has allowed this as part of the Vow.
By 10th level, as long as the Charge is within 30' of the Brother, this can be done at any time the Brother has at least one usable blade and a free arm. The Holy Vow of Servitude empowers the Brother's weapon to pass through any intervening barrier- if that barrier is living, it automatically takes a critical hit based on the weapon's damage. If the Charge is not adjacent to the Brother, the Brother must use a ranged weapon, a reach weapon, or a weapon he knows how to throw (that means he can't use a kukri or an improvised weapon for this unless it is appropriately enchanted or he has the Throw Anything feat). Charge Coup De Grace is resolved as a touch attack. The only time a Brother may do this is if his Charge has allowed this as part of the Vow.
Dagger Mastery (Ex): Gained at 2nd level, this ability improves at 5th and 8th level.
Bladed Brothers are most dangerous with the relatively innocuous blades they prefer. This ability is actually a set of 3 abilities: Improved Flurry Damage, Carving Strike, and Deep Strike. Benefits from Dagger Mastery (increased die size, threat range, and multiplier) do not stack with similar abilities from other sources unless a Wish or similar high-level magic is used. Dagger Mastery abilities are only usable with the small, bladed slashing or piercing weapon the Brother has chosen with Unorthodox Flurry.
Improved Flurry Damage: at the specified levels, the damage die of the weapon the Bladed Brother uses increases to the next largest die, analogous to the monk’s Unarmed Strike damage progression. This damage die increase is available only during the Flurry attack.
Carving Strike- When the Bladed Brother uses a full attack and is successful in executing a Grab with his opponent, he doubles the crit threat range for his dagger as he stabs then carves up and around the body of his target. In this case, the base die and crit multipliers remain standard for the dagger, but the crit threat range is doubled (redoubling at levels 5 and 8). Because the BB must execute a Grab attack, he must also have a hand free, costing him some of his Dagger Defense bonuses. The Carving Attack technique is only usable with Slashing weapons.
Deep Strike- When the Bladed Brother uses a dagger 2 handed (one hand on hilt, the other cupping the pommel and fist, he doubles the crit multiplier for his dagger as he stabs hard into the body of his target. In this case, the base die and crit threat remain standard for the dagger, but the crit multiplier increases by +1 (+1 more at 5th and again 8th level). Because the BB must use 2 hands for this attack, it costs him some of his Dagger Defense bonuses. He gets the standard bonuses for attacking with a weapon 2 handed. The Deep Strike technique is only usable with Piercing weapons.
Benefits granted by Dagger Mastery do not stack with Feats, Spells or other abilities that grant similar benefits barring a Wish or similar magic.
Dagger Defense (Ex): The Bladed Brother's flashing daggers deflect many blows into harmlessness as they form a steel cocoon around him. Dagger Defense abilities are only usable with a knife, dagger, kukri or other small, bladed slashing weapon the Brother has chosen with Unorthodox Flurry.
At 3rd level, the Bladed Brother gains +1 competence bonus to his AC per blade he wields in combat. At 6th level, this bonus increases to +2AC per blade, and at 9th level, to +3AC per blade.
The maximum bonus is +6, even for multi-armed Bladed Brothers- but they can still benefit from using more than 2 daggers, since they would retain that maximum bonus even if partially disarmed or if some daggers get thrown.
Suggestions?
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